Scratch the Itch
by hyenateeth
Summary: The itch always came back, no matter how much gum he chewed. Axel-centric.


Hah, most of my watchers probably do not read or care about Flash, but I'm posting this here anyway.

An introspective oneshot about Axel Walker, AKA The Trickster II. Not a popular character by any means, but I'm beginning to kind of like him. This is set before he became a Rogue.

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**Scratch the Itch**

When Axel's parents got divorced he started chewing gum. Well, it was a tad more complicated that that. He started chewing gum when his parents got divorced because he could not find the right gloves.

Because before they got divorced, Axel chewed his nails. This was a disgusting habit, or so his mother told him, but that wasn't really the problem. What was the problem was that after her ran out of nail he kept chewing. He thoughtlessly gnawed until all his finders were bleeding and ragged at the tip.

His parents had never noticed, but he knew that if his mother noticed she would bitch and probably send him to a therapist. After his parents divorced he worried that his mother would notice his bleeding fingers because she would not be so distracted, a worry that proved unfounded for she payed as much attention to him as she ever had. Still, at the time it seemed like a legitimate worry.

He tried stopping cold, but the strange itching in his teeth remained, an itching that could only be dispelled by chewing. He did try to wear gloves over his wounds, but no gloves he ever tried on looked very good, none of them screamed "_Axel._"

So one day in mid-autumn he put on a coat with big pockets and experimentally stole a package of gum from a corner store, not because he couldn't afford it, but just because he wanted to steal it.

And the gum worked, his fingers healed with minimal scarring and his mother was never the wiser.

But now it was more than his teeth itching, it was his hands too.

He lost count of the time he visited that convenience store to quell the itching that could not be fixed with scratching. He did, however, remember that it was February when he went in there to see the pimply college drop-out that worked there watching a small TV that sat on the counter.

Axel ignored this and made his regular route through the empty store, before grabbing a pint of Rocky Road ice cream to buy, because ice cream was hard to steal.

"Hey!" exclaimed the cashier as he set the pint down and for a moment Axel thought he was caught, but all the man said was "Check this out!"

So, wary of the five packets of gum, four candy bars a one small bag of chips that were all shoved in his pockets, he leaned over to look at the TV screen where the cashier pointed.

"It's footage of the Flash fighting the Rogues!" exclaimed the man. "Good footage, of a whole fight!"

Even Axel could appreciate this, because despite the Rogue's propensity for "working" in the daylight, the conditions that they set up were hardly ideal for staying in one place long enough to be able to get good news footage of them.

"Woah," he breathed as the zoomed in on a flashy looking blond who was running in midair. "He's_ flying_."

The cashier nodded. "Yeah, the Trickster man. They say he's got flying shoes. Man, I would kill for that tech. Too bad he probably wouldn't sell them or something."

Axel snorted at the man's stupidity. "If you had that kind of technology would you want to share it?"

The cashier chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Is this all you want dude?"

Axel nodded as the man rang up the ice cream, retrieving his money from a pocket he was not keeping his stolen goods in.

When he stepped outside he immediately popped a piece of gum in his mouth, then another because one was not enough anymore.

Now the familiar itch of want had disappeared temporarily from his teeth and hands, but a new one had appeared, this one plaguing his feet and legs.

Huffily he ran a hand through his hair, which he was thinking about cutting, before running. He ran all the way home, but it wasn't right, wasn't enough, and the itch remained.

**End.**

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**So yeah. Normally I just post stuff I don't think my normal readers (*coughanimefanscough*) will like over on communities on LiveJournal, but I was somewhat proud of this one So I decided to share it here, in the tiny Flash community this site has. If you liked this and would enjoy reading more of my Flash fanfictions here, please tell me. (For reference, they will probably all involve the Rogues, and some may be slashy.)

If any of my normal readers read this, or anyone who has requested something from, I swear, I am working on updating my other fics.

Feedback would be appreciated, especially constructive criticism, but please do not flame.


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